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|United States Patent Application
Learn; Angela E.
December 29, 2011
Flexible hinge clamshell food service package
There is herein described a disposable clamshell food service package
which includes a novel flex-hinge panel between the lid and bottom of the
package. This construction permits the package to open easily when the
lid is pushed upwardly resulting in a flat tray like configuration devoid
of the typical upstanding wall or divider and which may be used as a
serving plate by the consumer. The container may be easily snapped closed
and locked to allow later consumption of any uneaten food products.
Learn; Angela E.; (Gilbertsville, PA)
January 18, 2011|
|Current U.S. Class:
||229/124; 229/100 |
|Class at Publication:
||229/124; 229/100 |
||B65D 5/66 20060101 B65D005/66|
1. A foldable clamshell food service container formed from a single blank
of paperboard material or the like, comprising; a lid and a base, an
intermediate panel joining said lid and said base, the intermediate panel
forming the rear wall of the container; a fold line between the
intermediate panel and each of the lid and the base; said fold lines each
having an arcuate portion extending to a point adjacent to the sides of
the container, said intermediate panel forming a flexible hinge
construction with each of the lid and base, said container when open
having a flat configuration to serve as a tray.
2. The container as defined in claim 1, wherein said lid and base each
having locking means adapted to interengage with each other to lock the
container in a closed position.
3. The container as defined in claim 2, wherein said locking means
includes hooks on one of the lid or base and recesses to receive said
hooks on the other of the said lid or base.
4. The container as defined in claim 1 and further including side
sections extending laterally from each side of each of said lid and base,
said side sections adapted to overlap one another when the container is
closed to provide the sides of the container.
5. The container as defined in claim 4, wherein said side sections taper
outwardly from a point where the side sections on the lid and base join
each other, the arcuate portion of said fold lines meeting where the side
sections join each other.
6. The container as defined in claim 1 and further including flap means
extending from each of said lid and base and adapted to overlap each
other when the container is closed to provide the front surface of the
7. The container as defined in claim 4, wherein said side sections taper
inwardly from a point where the side sections on the lid and base join
each other, the arcuate portion of said fold lines meeting where the side
sections join each other.
8. The container as defined in claim 1, wherein said fold lines are
perforated along a portion of their length to provide venting for the
9. A blank for forming a flexible clamshell food service container, said
blank being preformed from a flat sheet of paperboard, said blank being
scored laterally adjacent its center by a pair of opposed spaced apart
fold lines having a portion adjacent the ends of the fold lines being
arcuate in shape, a portion of the blank located above one of the fold
lines defining the lid portion of the container, a portion of the blank
located below the other fold line defining the base of the container, a
pair of generally longitudinal score lines on the sides of each of said
lid and bottom portions of said blank spaced inwardly of the sides
thereof to define foldable sides of the container.
10. A blank as defined in claim 9, wherein the sides of the foldable
sides extend outwardly from the center of the blank.
11. A blank as defined in claim 9, wherein the sides of the foldable
sides extend inwardly from the center of the blank.
12. A blank as defined in claim 9 and further including flap portions
extending from each of said lid and base portions of said blank.
13. A blank is defined in claim 12 and further including a locking hook
formed adjacent the end of said flap portion that extends from either of
said lid or base portion of the blank.
14. The container as defined in claim 4, wherein, the arcuate portion of
said fold lines meet at a point spaced slightly from where the side
sections join each other.
CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e)
 Applicant claims the benefit of priority of her Provisional Patent
Application No. 61/344,317, which was filed on Jun. 29, 2010.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to a new and improved disposable food
service package primarily for use by fast-food service establishments.
The invention also encompasses a new and novel blank form for
constructing and erecting my new package.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The new package presented herein is preferably manufactured from
paperboard such as kraft, however, it can be constructed from other
suitable materials such as plastics, as is common in the industry. Such
containers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and provide an
easily erected package that is time-saving for the food service
establishment as well providing a sturdy, attractive package for the
consumer which serves to maintain the temperature of the food product
 Containers or packages of the type described herein are
particularly useful for the packaging and service of a wide variety of
fast-food products such as, flat breads, wraps, burritos, tacos, chicken
nuggets, pita sandwiches and the like. Partially erected packages are
stored in the food service establishment in a nested manner ready to
accept the particular food product being sold and are then closed by the
server before being given to the customer.
 Clam shell containers are well known in the art as exemplified by
U.S. Pat. Nos. D519,830, 5,205,476, 5,577,989, 5,909,373, 6,439,875, and
7,021,526. Such containers are conventionally made from a single
paperboard blank which is cut and scored to provide a plurality of
hingedly connected panels. Clam shell containers normally include a lid
or cover and an integral container base that are hinged together. The
user can close the lid in order to keep the food product warm and a
locking means is usually provided to temporarily secure the lid onto the
base until such time as the customer wishes to open the same.
 My new clam shell design results in cost savings due to the
reduction in the amount of glue needed to initially form the container.
Only four adhesive points are employed as opposed to eight, as is
conventional in the prior art. Further, less paperboard material waste is
achieved and costs are saved as a result of less complex forming, reduced
complexity of the tooling employed, less production spoilage and better
 A principal object of my invention is to provide a food service
clam shell container wherein after the food product is placed therein and
the package closed for delivery, the purchaser may open the package and
use it as a flat tray or dish while consuming the product and can
thereafter close the package for later consumption of the remaining food
 An additional object of the invention is to provide an attractive
and pleasing shape for a food service clam shell container on which
graphic designs, trademarks and logos can be imprinted.
 Yet another object of my invention is to provide a food service
clam shell container that is inexpensive to produce, which can be stored
in a nested manner and which is reliable and simple for the user to open
 Further objects of the invention will become apparent upon a
careful reading of the appended specification, claims and drawings, and
wherein like reference characters refer to the same elements which appear
in the several views.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 A container for a food product for use by fast-food service
establishments that is constructed according to the teachings of the
present invention comprises a paperboard or like material foldable blank
that is cut and scored to define a front panel which serves as the bottom
of the container and a rear panel which serves as the top or lid for the
container. The bottom or front panel is typically slightly longer in
depth than the top or rear panel so that a flap formed on the bottom
panel will overlie a similar flap on the top panel, permitting locking
tabs on the top panel to snap into and engage recesses on the front
 A wide variety of locking configurations as are well known in the
art can be employed and they play no part in the patentable novelty of
 A rear wall is provided in the blank which is intermediate and
joins the rear panel and the front panel and is preferably curved at
least in part. This construction provides the flex-hinge action when the
container is unlocked and the customer applies pressure to open the
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
 These and other objects of my invention will be appreciated and
understood by those skilled in the art from the detailed description of
the preferred embodiment of the invention and from the following drawings
 FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the blank for forming a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
 FIG. 2A is a bottom left perspective view of a container assembled
from the blank of FIG. 1, shown in the closed and locked position;
 FIG. 2B is a top left perspective of the container shown in FIG.
2A, but the container is shown in its open condition.
 FIG. 2C is a bottom left rear perspective view of a container
assembled from the blank of FIG. 1, shown in the closed and locked
 FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a blank for forming another embodiment
of the invention;
 FIGS. 4A through 4F respectively show plan views of blanks having
modified score lines to define the rear wall of the container; and
 FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a blank for forming yet another
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 With reference to the drawings the blank of FIG. 1, shown generally
at 10 is used to form a generally rectangular clamshell package P using
only four glue points or tabs.
 The front panel 2 of the blank in FIG. 1, serves as the bottom of
the container and is typically longer in depth than the rear panel 3
which becomes the top of the container when it is closed. A flap 4,
defined by the horizontal score line 5, is formed on the leading edge of
the rear panel 3. A similar flap 6 defined by the horizontal score line 7
is formed on the leading edge of front panel 2.
 Opposed parallel vertical score lines 8 and 9 are formed in both
the top and bottom portions of the blank 10 as shown in FIG. 1. These
score lines permit the angled side sections or wings of the blank 11 and
12 to be folded inwardly to define the side walls of the container.
 During the initial die-cutting of the blank, slits 13 are cut into
the lower portion of the blank and slits 14 are formed in the upper
portion of the blank to create tabs 15 and 16 which serve as the four
glue points in the container blank assembly.
 When the tabs 15 are glued to the flap 6, lock recesses 17 are
formed in the front panel or bottom of the container. Tabs 16 include
hook-like protrusions 18 and are glued to the flap 4 of the container
rear panel or top 3. Upon closure of the container, it will be apparent
that the protrusions 18 will snap into the recesses 17 as can be seen
best in FIG. 2A and will serve to temporarily lock the container in a
closed position. As noted previously, other locking means may be employed
such as hooks members 19 and 20 employed in the FIG. 3 embodiment of the
 In the preferred embodiment, the side sections of the blank 11 and
12 are angled inwardly toward the center and a short notch or cut-out 21
is formed at the joinder of the side sections.
 The front panel 2 and the rear panel 3 join to form the rear wall
of the container 22 which is defined by a pair of opposed generally
horizontal score lines 23 and 24. These score lines include arcuate
portions 25 and 26 which curve from adjacent and slightly spaced from the
notch 21 to meet the horizontal portion of the score lines 23 and 24. The
resulting rear wall 22 takes on a partially elliptical shape and provides
the flex-hinge feature of my invention. The distance between the score
lines may be increased if desired in order to allow the packaging of
taller food items. By having the score lines intersect short of the notch
21 the gap created provides strength to the folded clamshell container
and allows snap-over or "pop" open from the clamshell to the open tray
 In the FIG. 3 embodiment, the blank 10.sup.1 is similar to the
blank 10 however, the side sections S are differently configured
providing a sharply angled portion from the cut-out 21. This construction
results in a triangular container which may be better suited to the
packaging of certain types of foods such as sandwiches, wraps, pizza or
 FIGS. 4A through 4F disclose several alternative configurations for
the rear wall section 25 that can be employed to achieve the flex-hinge
of the invention. In each modification, the score lines 23 and 24 meet in
an arcuate portion 25 or 26 at the cut-out 21. In the FIG. 4E embodiment,
the score lines forming the rear wall section 25 are discontinuous and
cut through the paperboard to form vent slits 27 particularly useful for
packaging of hot foods such as pizza in order to allow the escape of
 In the FIG. 5 embodiment, the score lines 28 and 29 defining the
side sections of the blank in both the front and rear panels are arcuate
rather than straight vertical lines. This configuration provides a more
pleasing and novel appearance and also functions to provide increased
interior space or "head space" within the container which may be achieved
without the use of additional carton material. Packages of this type are
useful for packaging thicker sandwiches, double hamburgers and the like.
 For maximum stacking strength and integrity of the package, the
grain direction of the paperboard should run vertically as shown by the
arrow at G in FIG. 1. For a more rounded or "pillow pak" appearance of
the container, the grain could run alternatively horizontally in FIG. 1
 In use, the containers may be vertically stacked by the food
service facility since when erected they are nestable. After the food
product in placed in the open container, the top of the container is
snapped closed, engaging the locking means and is then given to the
 When the consumer opens the package by disengaging the locking
means and applying slight pressure upwardly on the top or lid, the
container will snap open due to the flex-hinge provided by the rear wall
22. The container then opens as a flat tray or eating plate devoid of the
usual upstanding center wall divider of the common clam shell containers
of the prior art.
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